


Tomorrow Comes a Day Too Soon

by KingRichRock



Series: Retirement, Huh? [1]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Baseball, Best Friends, Clintasha - Freeform, Emotional Problems, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Resolution, Summer, clintnat, electrical problems, hawkeye squared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 13:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7464411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingRichRock/pseuds/KingRichRock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Clint has a secret to tell Kate and all she wants is to watch Baseball with her dummy of a best friend? Angst and some much needed help from friends. Join Hawkeye Squared for this zany one off in which we see what they do when they aren't being Avengers. With a little help from Natasha, Wanda, and the Star Spangled Man with A Plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tomorrow Comes a Day Too Soon

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is why I couldn't sleep the night before a super important work thing so enjoy. Title is from Flogging Molly.

“Katie, I ever tell you about the time…” Clint started, his eyes on his protégé/best friend aka Kate Bishop who trades on his name as Hawkeye, when she decides to shush him with a beer. 

“No deep life drama crap. You promised.” She said, rather sternly, depositing her elbows onto the hot apartment buildings ledge, an already open beer in one hand and a knife in the other. 

Clint popped the lid off on the ledge and took a drink before spitting out the bit of beer he had taken in, it tasting like grainy, overpriced piss. 

“The fuck, Hawkeye? Trying to give me literal piss in a bottle!” He exclaimed, tossing the bottle over his shoulder to land unceremoniously on the rooftop. It didn’t have the decency to shatter like a good beer would. 

“Hey you old fuck, that was like twelve bucks, and is totally the beer of the summer. So go take your sorry ass over to it, pick it up, and enjoy the damn thing Clint. Because it’s been a long ass day and after these beers I just want to watch some baseball and be a normal goddamn 21-year-old for a minute. Because I’ve been old enough to legally drink and do nothing for a month now but between the Avenging business and your lame ass, I haven’t had the time. So you and me are going to go down there after these beers to turn on the last game of the subway series to root for the Bronx Bombers, and while we do that we’re going to be eating the pizza I ordered with Lucky and we’re gonna forget all the shit that’s been dumped onto us these last few months and we’re just gonna be Kate Bishop and Clint Barton. No bows. No arrows. No being Hawkeye or Avengers and absolutely no getting up from the couch except to get pizza. Got me?” She says to Clint, and he merely nods, retrieving the crappy beer from behind him and begins to sip on it slowly to try and numb the horrid taste. 

Clint made a big deal of taking a disgusted sip, causing Kate to smirk a little. 

“And Katie, we’re rooting for the Mets to win. Don’t let that high society attitude bite you in the ass when you get seriously let down tonight.” Clint says and Kate punches him on the arm before smiling a bit and they look onto the horizon, the sun still bright over Brooklynn that warm July day.

And so they drank beer for another half hour when they heard Lucky bark, meaning the pizza guy was there because Lucky was generally a lousy guard dog unless there was pizza afoot. Then he was right on it. 

Like he could fight those Tracksuit Dracula’s all day, but other threats, like Deadpool (well, Wade wasn’t reeeeaaaaalyy a threat), an Angry Jessica Drew, a Disappointed Bobbi Morse, or a Peeved Natasha Romanov got by him pretty easily. But Pizza was Lucky’s business, after all. And so the two archers climbed the stairs down to Clint’s apartment, their tall glasses of now warm beer mostly consumed.

They saw that the pizza guy was looking a bit pissed that no one had answered when they got to the door, but Clint merely shrugged and handed him an Andrew Jackson before grabbing the box of Pizza and carrying it through the door. Kate tossed the confused teenager a Lincoln before closing the door shut behind her, leaving the delivery boy a minute to scratch his orange hair before picking the wedgie out in his ugly ass green ‘Pizza Planet Express’ uniform before heading downstairs. 

And once inside, they were met by a very excited one eyed Brown Lab who was hungry for love and pizza, getting both from his owners. 

Having tossed a slice of pizza in Lucky’s bowel, Kate and Clint settled onto the brown couch Clint had just recently bought, pulling a six pack of Budweiser from Clint’s fridge along with some Coke’s for Clint and some chips. Because chips. 

Kate went to turn on the pregame festivities, the game still having an hour and a half before it was scheduled to start when she realized that Clint’s TV wouldn’t turn on. Because of course it wouldn’t when she just wanted to be lazy and watch baseball. 

“What in the fresh fuck, Barton. We watched Dog Cops for 5 minutes last week, what happened?” She asked, her blue eyes peering deep into his soul. 

“Promise not to shout?” He asked, sheepishly scratching his neck knowing the answer was gonna get him a swift shout. 

“You know what? No! I do not promise that!” Kate said, almost about to stand up and ruin her no stress day. “I don’t really give a flying fuck Clint. Just fix it.” She said icily, popping another beer and sitting back, letting out an exasperated huff before crossing her arms and glaring dead ahead, completely ignoring her startled mentor. 

“Fucking Natasha.” Clint mumbled under his breath before he got up to look at the damn thing. And then he remembered Tony set it up for him this second time around. But Stark was a pain in the ass, and Cap was closer. And he knew whatever Tash had done to his precious TV would be too much for him to fix on his own, so Steve Rogers was Clint’s first call. Well. Text. 

[FROM: Clint Barton  
TO: Star Spangled Man with A Plan  
Hey, Steve man, Nat might have busted my TV and Katie Kate is giving me the evil eye. Think you can come give me a hand?

[FROM: Star Spangled Man with A Plan  
TO: Clint Barton  
Why the fuck are you asking me Clint? Get Tony to help.]

[FROM: Clint Barton  
To: The Star Spangled Man with A Plan  
Woah, language there, Cap. And yeah, but Stark was an ass last time I brought him. And plus you’ve got like good old American ingenuity or some shit according to Kate. I was hoping you could help. If not, I’ll see if Wanda can magic the damn thing. And maybe I’ll see what Nat did to it. Come by, or don’t. I don’t care, but Kate may kill you for ruining TV and being and adult. You decide.]

And with that, Clint decided to call Wanda Maximoff, because odds are she would be doing some weird meditation shit and would not answer a text. But her magic is pretty awesome and she could keep Kate distracted while he and Cap tried to fix the damn TV. 

“What do you want Clint, you interrupted my mid-day meditation with Natasha.” She said, sounding a little irritated as she answered her phone, which caused Clint to smirk. Two birds with one stone. 

“Just the two people I wanted to speak to, actually.” Clint said, a smile on his face as he munched on some pizza and drank his coke until he heard Natasha say something sounding vaguely like a Russian swear. Probably. 

“What is it, Barton? Wanda and I were enjoying quite the relaxing afternoon before you called us, so this better be good.” She said, and he could tell she wasn’t actually mad. Maybe. Even after 12 years as partners, he could never really tell. 

“Well Tasha, considering the mess I’m in is all your fault, I’m sure you and our wonderfully talented friend would be more than happy to come over and fix the damn TV before Katemageddon happens.” He says, sending a pointed look at Kate, who gives him another icy blue death stare before he turns around, his back to her, opting to lean on the counter with her glaring daggers at his back. 

“Oh no. The TV.” Natasha mutters, and Clint can hear her get up to grab her boots before Wanda can get a word in edgewise. “We’re on our way. Widow out.” She says, and he can hear her frown. 

Thirty minutes passed before Steve made his way over on his loud ass Harley Davidson, waking up the kids down the hall. Oh well. And he heard the thunk on the roof that was Natasha and Wanda not too long after that. 

They al get to the door at roughly the same time, Wanda and Nat looking a bit exasperated at the antics of Clint while Steve stood there with a toolbox and a gear bag with electrical wires and stuff. Clint invited them in and offered them drinks. Well, Steve and Nat drinks. He handed Wanda a Coke. 

And it was with a beer in hand that Captain America effortlessly pulled Clint’s TV off of its wall hinges and realized all of the wires had been cut, as it came off too easily, even for him. 

“Great, you ripped all the damn wires. Oh well, guess we’ll just have to leave forever.” Natasha said quickly, sipping on her beer as Clint sent her a stink eye. 

“You know, Romanov.” Steve said, and she just sighed in response, taking a long gulp from her beer.

Wanda stepped over to examine the TV, and just gasped. “The wires. They are all cut.” She said, and Kate threw Natasha what Clint thought had to be the meanest look Kate Bishop had ever given anyone in her life. 

And the normally composed super spy looked as sheepishly nervous as Clint is when Kate is pissed at him, and he realized he must be rubbing off on his stoic partner. Cool. 

Luckily for them, Lucky decided at that moment he wanted some momma Kate loving, and launched himself into her lap, cuddling up to her and licking her face joyously, causing the angry archer to smile and hug the beloved dog. 

“I’m pissed at the both of you.” She says sternly to Natasha and Clint. “I’m indifferent to you two.” She says, eyeing the Super Solider and Witch. “And I love you, yes I do.” She says, very affectionately as she rubs Lucky behind his ears and kisses him on the bridge of his nose. 

And so the angry eyes from Kate continue as Clint and Steve work on figuring out which wires needed to be replaced and which needed to be repaired, and with half an hour to the game left, they were almost done. Natasha and Wanda had occupied their time talking to Kate, who was still pissed at Natasha, but made polite enough conversation with Wanda, still holding onto Lucky and her beer. 

They got the TV back on the wall, all connected and ready to go with about five minutes to spare. More than enough time for them to clear up and sit down, as Kate put it, grabbing another round of beverages from the fridge and paying Fry the pizza guy some more cash for a few more pies. They had all sat down and were ready for the ESPN announcers to shut up and pan in for the opening pitch of the game when there was an audible crack of electricity and the entire apartment went black. 

“Clinton. Francis. Barton. Did you, perhaps, forget to be a grown ass adult and set up the online fucking banking like I fucking told you to.” She says, more of an accusation of his laziness than a question of his having done so. 

“Well now that you bring it up…” He begins, dodging a beer bottle thrown at him by Kate before hopping up to his feet from the floor, using Steve Rogers as a human shield. “You wouldn’t dare hit the Star Spangled Man with A Plan. Dear god, Cap. Please. Please tell me you have a plan to stop Hurricane Kate.” Clint says, and he dodges a well thrown bottle that Kate masterfully bounced off the ceiling that shattered at his feet. 

“Why don’t we just listen to it on the battery powered radio I have stashed on my bike? It’s not the same as a picture show in High Definition, but I prefer it. And I know it’s no Vin Scully announcing, but just give it a try. And if you aren’t cool with it, we’ll go to a Yankees bar and watch the game there. 

Kate just nods, a look of mixed heartbreak and anger on her face as Clint hides behind the much larger Super Soldier before retreating to the mostly safe area behind the counter. 

“What lesson did you learn today, Clint?” Kate asked him icily, causing both Natasha and Wanda to back a bit off, choosing to seem very interested in their clothes or something. 

“Uhm? Pay my bills?” He asks, scratching his neck as Kate throws her hands up in exasperation. 

“One damn afternoon with you Clint Barton. That’s all I really wanted. An afternoon with my best friend to watch my favorite team kick the ass of your favorite team is all I wanted. Some drinks, Pizza, and Lucky petting, dude. That’s it. And yeah Natasha made that a pain in the ass having done whatever the fuck it is she did. But this is the last game they’re playing this year man, and I don’t know. Between avenging and you teaching me how to be a true superhero and shit, I just feel like we’re not having any good times where we just relax anymore. And like I love having Steve and Nat and Wanda around, but they aren’t my best friend. And that was all I had really wanted for today Clint. You, me, Lucky, Pizza, drinks, and Baseball” She repeats, a small amount of tears in her eyes that she was refusing to shed in front of Natasha and Wanda. 

“Look Katie Kate, I know that I haven’t been the greatest at being your friend recently, but that’s because I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you that I’m retiring. That’s why I stepped up all the training and the missions together. It’s why I’ve had the Avengers send you and your band of merry friends on their way to what would normally be imminent death. Because I want you to be ready when I retire. Because I want you to take my place on the Avengers, Kate. To be the one and only Hawkeye. Because I’m tired and just want a really long, undisturbed nap. And to maybe open a superhero bar for all of you to come into and hang out in and maybe just enjoy being with my friends without the threat of imminent death, you know. Because I’m in pain and I’m done and I wanted to tell you in private and then Natasha within the next month or so because I love her and haven’t told her that and oh god I said that out loud but that was supposed to be after I’d finalized the details. Because I believe in you Katie Kate. And the world is ready to have one extremely kick ass Hawkeye. And that’s you, Kate.” Clint said, smiling at her. He had made his way over to her during his long speech, and she was crying, not giving a damn about the other two women in the room as she hugged him, their dog squished between them as their friends looked on. 

Because only the Hawkeyes could manage to repress this much emotional turmoil within themselves until this moment in time. And of course it had to be this way, because Clint is almost thirty-three and was hurting in places he didn’t know existed. He needed to preserve what little was left of his hearing. And he mostly just wanted to tell Natasha how he felt about her and live with her and have Katie come around for pizza and archery fun and just enjoy rest of his life with his favorite red head and his best friend and faithful dog.

And so naturally the scene Steve Rogers came back to was a teary eyed Kate Bishop holding onto Lucky like a safety blanket while Natasha slapped Clint upside the head because she didn’t want to avenge without him while they had a hushed conversation.

“Ah I take it you let the retirement announcement come out early.” Steve said, popping open a beer on the table as he tuned the station to the game. 

Natasha looked at Steve for a minute before shaking her head and looking at Clint. 

“You mean to tell me that Steve ‘I can’t fucking keep a secret but this one’ Rogers has been hiding your secret for months now and you weren’t going to tell me for another month that you were going to leave me alone without my Hawk to have my back. Because that wasn’t the deal I made when I defected Barton. You and Me. And if there is no you, then I’m going to retire with your dumbass to make sure you don’t get killed. And we can open that damn bar and we can see our friends and I love you, you idiot.” She said, brushing a stay curl of her red hair out of her face, looking at an awestruck Clint Barton. 

And then she kissed him because he was going to stand there dumb for another minute and she couldn’t take it. 

“We’re both going to retire Steve. And you can put Kate in his place. And maybe just leave mine empty for a while. Don’t fill it with a knock off.” She said, and then realized what that might mean to Kate. “It’s not like replacing Hawkeye with the only person in the universe as talented as the original with room to become even better.” She said quickly, earning a small but noticeable smile from Kate, and a subtle heel onto Clint’s foot to shut him up about his superior archery skills. 

“Sound like a plan Natasha. I plan to visit often.” Steve said, kicking back on a chair and relaxing as he listened to the game on his radio. 

Kate scooted over on the couch, allowing Clint to have her on his right and Natasha on his left. He gave Kate a small smile and pet their beloved pizza eating canine while Natasha rested her head on his chest. Wanda had set up shop in the chair opposite of Steve, a beer in her hand. 

And it was in those positions they would remain for several hours, listening to the nail biter of a game with plenty of pizza and drinks to go around. Because it was New York and it was summer. 

Because the original Hawkeye and the Black Widow were retiring young to open a bar for their friends. Because Kate was now going to be a real deal Avenger. And because Baseball was just one of those things you enjoyed in silence, and they sat there together as day turned to night, smiles on their faces as the Mets won in extra innings on a balk. And as they all went to bed in the apartment, whether it was Natasha and Clint in his bed, Wanda and Kate in hers, or Steve on the couch, it felt like the perfect midsummer night. One they’d remember forever.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hoped you enjoyed this because it was fun to write. Thank you so much and please leave Kudos and Feedback so I can know what you think and what to improve on when I go back to writing my series on here. Thank you!


End file.
